Does Your Baby Have Pierced Ears? Why not a Tattoo?¿Tu bebé tiene aretes? ¿Por qué no también un tatuaje?
By: Papa K
Papa K is an extroverted-introvert Hell bent on becoming not only a successful blogger… but a successful blogger that writes about nothing in particular. In an overcrowded “industry”, where themed blogs seem to generate a high number of readers, he’s looking at breaking that mold and eventually becoming bigger than Google. Help him reach his goal at his personal blog: Hands To War
Does Your Baby Have Pierced Ears? Why not a Tattoo?
by Papa K
My wife and I decided recently that our daughter was now old enough to get a tattoo. I have 19 tattoos myself so I’m not particularly opposed to the idea.
So, after a quick phone call to my artist to set an appointment, we arrived at my favorite tattoo shop where I’ve been working on getting my Marvel superhero leg sleeve completed for several years now. I showed my daughter some of the artwork the tattoo artists had drawn up and flipped through some pages in the photo albums they have displayed to showcase some of the finer tattoos they’ve encased into the skin of willing participants.
She sat there wide eyed and looked as though she was having second thoughts.
“It’s just like getting stuck with a clothes pin hundreds of times honey,” I assured her, “It doesn’t hurt THAT bad. You’re a big girl. You’ll get over it.”
Around this time, my tattoo artist came over to see what he could help us with. It was at this moment that he noticed my daughter.
“Oh,” he said, “No kids in the shop man! Sorry!”
I backpedalled, “Wait a minute dude… when I called you I said I was bringing in my daughter to get a tattoo you said that was totally cool!”
“THIS… is your daughter? How old is she?”
“She turned two years old in July.” I said condescendingly.
A completely miffed look passed over my tattoo artist’s face which quickly transcended into a furrowed brow and a slight tilt of his head. He then asked, “You are going to let your two-year-old get a tattoo?”
“Absolutely,” I responded, “Her mother and I think it’s time.”
He nodded, “Well you guys are the parents! Sooooooooooo… I guess there’s nothing much more I can say!”
He’d apparently never been approached to tattoo a two-year-old because he sat there rather flabbergasted for a moment while simultaneously tracing the outline of the shark tattoo that was emblazoned on his forearm.
He finally broke the silence, “What is she thinkin’ about getting?”
“Well… she really likes Ming-Ming from ‘The Wonder Pets’”, I said while I smiled and looked down at my beautiful two-year-old daughter……..
My little girl and her tattoo!
Before you go calling the authorities on me for tattooing my two-year-old please allow me to make a point: how many little newborn babies have you seen with their ears pierced? Probably more than you’ve seen that have been tattooed!! But hey… that’s not the point.
The point is, at what age are little kids able to discern whether they want to make certain body modifications to themselves?
I’ve chosen the age of two… or when they’ve built a vocabulary somewhere around 500 words. My child is extraordinarily smart with a vocabulary somewhere around 5000 words (5121 actually… but who’s counting) and can communicate with her mother and I quite effectively. It is because of this that I believe she’s reached that age where she can make a “wrong” or “right” decision!
When I asked her if she wanted a tattoo she said without question, “Yes!”
When we were in the tattoo shop talking with the artist she never said, “No daddy, I want to go home!”
While the artist was jettisoning ink into the sub-layers of her epidermis, she never said, “DADDY MAKE IT STOP!” or “STOP IT HURTS”! While this might have been, she was too busy screaming at the top of her lungs… I prefer to think she was learning a valuable life lesson: don’t ever thrash around while getting tattooed. Ming-Ming wound up looking more like a dirty thumbprint.
The afternoon after we got her tattooed I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced. She asked, “Daddy… does it hurt like getting tattooed?”
I have my ears pierced too so I could tell her from experience, “Yes honey… but not quite as bad as being tattooed”.
After she got done crying from sheer excitement through reliving the tattooing process of the previous afternoon, she exclaimed that she didn’t feel much like getting her ears pierced today.
“That’s my grown up, two-year-old girl,” I thought to myself, “Making decisions all on her own”.
I’m just a proud, proud papa.
POSTSCRIPT: Just so you know, I absolutely DID NOT get my two-year-old tattooed. The closest thing to a tattoo she’s going to get while she’s living in my house are the temporary kind. So please call off the attack dogs… I was joking.
I was simply trying to paint a picture.
That would be me and my REAL daughter… with no tattoos
The picture I was painting was an EXTREME case scenario of myself seemingly under the impression that my daughter actually wanted to get a tattoo at age two!! By doing this I wanted to draw similarities between it and when parents get their newborn child’s ears pierced!! As a 30-year-old who just got my ears pierced… I can attest that it hurts.
I DO KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that a week old baby is not going to particularly want to endure something as unfamiliar as the pain associated with getting their ears pierced. Personally, I don’t think it’s all that humane! I’d rather have my daughter reach an age of reason where she can make a decision on her own if she wants to endure the pain to get the end result.
But that’s just me.
What do you think?
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Papá K es un introvertido-extrovertido decidido a convertirse no solamente en un blogueador exitoso… pero un blogueador exitoso quien escribe acerca de ningún tema en particular. En una “industria” sobrepoblada donde los blogs con temas particulares parecen generar el mayor número de lectores, él está buscando el romper el molde y eventualmente convertirse en más famoso que Google. Ayúdale a alcanzar su meta con su blog personal llamado Hands To War
¿Tu bebé tiene aretes? ¿Por qué no también un tatuaje?
por Papa K
Mi esposa y yo recientemente decidimos que nuestra hija es lo suficientemente grande como para tener un tatuaje. Yo mismo tengo 19 tatuajes así que no estoy particularmente opuesto a la idea.
Así que, después de una llamada rápida al artista que siempre uso para hacer una cita, llegamos a mi tienda de tatuajes favorita donde he estado trabajando en conseguir completar mi manga de pierna de súper héroes de Marvel por ya varios años. Le enseñé a mi hija algunas de las obras que el artista de tatuajes ha dibujado y hojeamos algunas páginas de álbumes de fotografías que tienen a la mano para mostrar algunos de los tatuajes más finos que han revestido en las pieles de participantes complacientes.
Ella se sentó ahí con los ojos bien abiertos viendo como si estuviera pensándolo mejor.
“Corazón es solamente como si te estuvieras pinchando con un segurito de la ropa cientos de veces,” le aseguré, “No duele TANTO. Tú eres una niña mayor. Ya se te pasará.”
En este momento, mi artista del tatuaje vino a ver en qué podía ayudarnos. Fue en este momento que se dio cuenta de la presencia de mi hija.
“Oh,” él dijo, “¡No se permiten niños en este establecimiento hombre! ¡Lo siento!”
Yo me di marcha atrás, “Espera un momento amigo…cuando te llamé hace un rato yo te dije que iba a traer a mi hija para que le pusieras un tatuaje y tú dijiste que estaba bien y que ¡no había problema!”
“¿ESTA…es tu hija? ¿Cuántos años tiene?”
“Ella cumplió los dos años en Julio.” Le contesté condescendientemente.
Una marca de completa molestia pasó por la cara de mi artista de tatuajes la cuál rápidamente trascendió en una frente surcada y una pequeña inclinación de cabeza. Entonces me preguntó, “¿Tú vas a dejar que tu hija de dos años de edad se ponga un tatuaje?”
“Absolutamente,” le respondí, “Su madre y yo pensamos que ya es tiempo.”
Él inclinó la cabeza, “¡Bueno ustedes son los padres! Así que…¡Adivino que no hay nada que yo pueda decir!”
Aparentemente a él nunca se le había presentado la solicitud de ponerle un tatuaje a una niña de dos años de edad porque él estuvo sentado asombrado por un momento al mismo tiempo que con su mano trazaba la figura de un tiburón tatuada en su antebrazo.
Finalmente él rompió el silencio, “¿Qué es lo que ella está pensando en ponerse?”
“Bueno…a ella verdaderamente le gusta Ming-Ming de “Las mascotas maravilla”, le dije mientras sonreía y miraba hacia mi preciosa hija de dos años de edad……..
Mi pequeñita y su tatuaje!
Antes de que vayas a llamar a las autoridades contra mí por haber tatuado a mi hija de dos años de edad, por favor permíteme que te explique algo: ¿cuántas bebitas recién nacidas has visto con los oídos perforados y usando aretes? ¡¡Probablemente muchas más de las que has visto tatuadas!! Pero ey…ese no es el punto.
El punto es, ¿a qué edad son los niños pequeños capaces de discernir si ellos quieren hacer ciertas modificaciones a sus propios cuerpos?
Yo he escogido la edad de dos años… o cuando ellos tengan un vocabulario de alrededor de 500 palabras. Mi hija es extraordinariamente lista con un vocabulario alrededor de las 5000 palabras (actualmente 5121…peor quién está llevando la cuenta) y puede comunicarse con su madre y conmigo con bastante efectividad. ¡Es por esto que yo creo que ella ha alcanzado una edad en la que ella puede tomar una decisión “correcta” o “incorrecta”!
Cuando yo le pregunté si ella quería un tatuaje ella me dijo sin titubear que “¡Sí!”
Cuando estábamos en la tienda de tatuajes hablando con el artista ella nunca dijo, “¡No papi, ya me quiero ir a la casa!”
Mientras el artista estaba lanzando tinta en las capas internas de su epidermis, ella nunca dijo “¡PAPI HAZ QUE PARE!” o “¡PARA QUE ME DUELE!” Mientras que esto tal vez haya sido porque ella estaba muy ocupada gritando a todo pulmón…yo prefiero pensar que ella estaba aprendiendo una lección invaluable: nunca te menees cuando estés recibiendo un tatuaje. Ming-Ming terminó pareciéndose más a una impresión sucia del dedo pulgar.
La tarde en la que ella recibió su tatuaje yo le pregunté si ella quería perforarse las orejas para usar aretes. Ella me preguntó, “¿Papi…duele igual que el tatuaje?”
Yo también tengo agujeros en mis orejas así que pude contestarle basado en mi experiencia, “Sí amor…pero no es tanto como cuando te pones un tatuaje”.
Después de que ella paró de llorar por pura emoción al revivir la experiencia de haber recibido su tatuaje la tarde anterior, ella exclamó que no estaba muy interesada ese día en perforarse sus orejas.
“Esa es mi jovencita de dos años de edad,” yo pensé, “Tomando decisiones por sí misma”.
Yo soy un orgulloso, orgulloso papá.
POSDATA: Solo para que lo sepan, yo absolutamente NO llevé a mi hija de dos años a que se tatuara. Lo más cercano a un tatuaje que ella va a tener por mucho tiempo mientras que esté viviendo en mi casa son los tatuajes de calcomanía temporales. Así que por favor, suspende el ataque de los perros…yo estaba bromeando.
Yo simplemente estaba tratando de pintar un cuadro.
Estos somos yo y mi VERDADERA hija…sin tatuajes
El cuadro que estaba tratando de pintar fue un caso EXTREMO de mí mismo pareciendo tener la impresión de que ¡mi hija verdaderamente quería tener un tatuaje a los dos años de edad! Al hacer esto yo quería mostrar las similitudes entre este caso y aquellos en el que los padres ¡perforan las orejas de sus bebés recién nacidas para ponerles aretes!! Como un adulto de 30 años de edad quien se acaba de agujerar las orejas…yo puedo atestiguar que sí duele.
YO SE sin lugar a duda que una bebé de una semana de nacida no va a querer particularmente sobrellevar algo tan desconocido como el dolor asociado con el tener sus orejitas perforadas. Personalmente, ¡yo no creo que sea muy humano! Yo prefiero que mi hija alcance una edad en la que ella pueda tomar la decisión por sí misma de querer soportar el dolor para conseguir el resultado deseado.
Pero esa es mi opinión personal.
¿Tú qué opinas?
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LMAO! Great point!!
First off, let me just say that I LOVE THIS BLOG POST! It had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. I loved the hook, the reinforcement with the image of your daughter with a BIG tattoo, and the twist at the end. You are a very talented writer!
In the Caribbean (where my wife’s family is from), baby girls get their ears pierced very young. The argument I’ve heard is that the nerve endings in their ears haven’t developed yet, so it actually doesn’t hurt as much.
We waited until our little girl had her Tetanus shot before getting her ears pierced. Believe it or not, she barely even cried. She jerked more at the sound of the ear-piercing gun than the physical experience itself, as far as we could tell. Her eyes watered, we wiped them, and that was that. While her ears were healing, we kept the solution on her ears as instructed, turned them, etc. She never messed with them or pulled them out or got them stuck on anything.
Today, she is 4-years-old and absolutely LOVES her “real” earrings. She would be just as beautiful without them. But I have to admit they’re pretty cool.
Chris, A.K.A. Papa K
As always, great prose and if you don’t sent samples of your writing to the NY Times or Wall Street Journal I will have to pick up the phone. I get the whole say at home Dad thing which is honorable, however, you have a talent Chris that must be shared with the masses.
Respectfully yours,
Roger J. Hourihan, ATA, ATP
wow.
I got my ears pierced when I was five. It was less than a second on each side. It was through cartilage.
Maybe you should write about something more comparable like circumcision on newborns or something.
Well, off to try to make up for an absolute waste of 2 minutes.
Jay: How are you going to make up for 2 minutes that you’ll never get back? Time doesn’t work that way.
Ya, good write; especially fo you wanna have CPS on your door step…
As I read, I totally new you were using a mild case of tongue in cheek, yet, I did let you hit the right buttons of my imagination.
What first arose as terror, I thought, “wow, what a gutsy little gal”.
Even in what we comsider barbaric societies, only when a child was coming of age, is he allowed to participate in whatever body alterations of that group.
Our “civilized” bunch do things to babies! ie, ear piercings and circumcision. Interesting enough on snipping baby boys penises, in the Phillipines circumcision was done when the boy reached puberty; at least he had relative say in the matter. Wife tells me that this waiting until puberty may have stopped, though, and they do it as an infant. Welcome to civiization at it’s finest!
Hey Kid, nice Tat! my boy wants a Barney!
Okay, I was thinking the whole time Chris is joking, he would never do that, but you never know. Kim Bayha ( not sure if you know or remember her), but her daughter wanted to get a tattoo right after she turned one and thank goodness Kim did not let her. Okay, I get your point about the ear piecing, but I was 6 weeks old and guess what, I don’t remember a darn thing about it. Only the stories my father has told throughout the years about what happened when my Mom took Natalie and me. You really want to talk, see, or experience something “traumatizing” to an infant?? I have twin boys and when they got circumsized in the hospital it was horrible and for any new Moms who are as crazy as I am about being with their children during everything that happens to them, I would set that one out. It traumatized me, not the boys—I doubt they would or could remember it happening. I would explain the process, but it’s still to horrible to look back on. I bet it would take home the prize on the one that “hurts” the most! Anyway, that may have been tacky to compare that to, but it’s kind of the same. I mean should a boy or man be able to decide if they want that done or should their parents just choose based on whats socially exceptable???
I knew the circumcision thing was going to come up. I know theres a huge group out there against not getting boys circumcised. I’m circumcised and tend to enjoy being circumcised. The reasons for being circumcised are not strictly material, as are earrings, there is a reason behind the madness!
Heh….We waited until our daughters asked to have their ears pierced. The oldest was 8 and her little sister was 5. Both girls had to save their allowance/birthday money to get it done. The 8 yr. old cried after the first ear and didn’t want to continue. Hindsight tells me we should have waited another couple of years. I should point out she loved them an hour after the procedure and adores her earrings now but yeah…we could have waited..
The 5 yr. old is freakishly strong/tough. She never cried/flinched once and when they were in she smiled in the mirror and said, “I look GOOD with these”. I guess this is my round-about way of saying I think it’s best to let the kiddo decide when they like to have earrings, but sometimes it’s ok to object. I should have made the oldest wait until she was older than 8, but this parenting thing is tricky sometimes.
I agree. My wife and I decided that we would not let our daughter get her ears pierced until she asked for it. We would then consider it. She was 4 when she asked. We talked to her about it, and all of the issues associated with it. She still wanted it, so I relented and we went ahead. The actual piercing was a piece of cake. Changing them has been a nightmare. She doesn’t want us to touch her ears and has to be held down in order to change them out. In hindsight, I wish we would have waited for a few years to let her get it done. I say waiting too long is better than doing it too soon. And a newborn is WAY too soon.
Love this post, thankx. that was too fuuny, and good. thankx all mighty dad and papa k
Well, I don’t really care one way or the other. But I love the way you wrote it! Really funny!!!
This argument clearly has two sides and if you would like your point of view respected, you should respect the points of view of others. I find your insinuation that piercing a baby’s ears as inhumane utterly disrespectful. One would draw conclusions about you based on the number of tattoos that you have, but that wouldn’t be fair, would it. Piercing of a baby girls ears is largely cultural. In fact, I had my ears pierced – by a doctor – when I was 3 days old before I was brought home from the hospital in Puerto Rico. My husband and I consulted with our pediatrician and had out daughter’s ears pierced after her first tetanus shot at 8 weeks. At this point, her nerve endings were not fully developed and she had no control over her hands. We were responsible for keeping them clean and ensuring that they healed properly, which was a piece of cake because, like I said, she had no control of her hands and couldn’t mess with them. Now she is 4 years old and we have no problem swapping her earrings out and she treats them as if they are a part of her body, not an accessory. Tattoo versus earring? Nice comparison, except for the fact that one can decide to wear an earring one day and not another. As humorous as your post was, I found it quite insulting.
Evita: You say you want other sides respected, right? Well, isn’t the fact that you find another opinion “insulting” and “disrespectful” in complete violation of that wish? The fact that you’re insulted and feel violated is the opposite of respecting another person’s opinions. Respecting another opinion without agreeing with it sounds something like this: “I see where you’re coming from, but I think …” That’s where you give your opinion. What you don’t do, however, if you demand mutual respect, is say the other person’s opinion is disrespectful and insulting simply because you hold a different viewpoint. Nowhere in this post did Chris insult any culture; he gave his honest opinion, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing for you to feel insulted or disrespected about. You should read it and agree or disagree, not feel personally wronged.
I love it that you brought this up. Someone my husband works with asked when our daughter was all of 6 months, “How do you know she is a girl if she doesn’t have her ears pierced?” I stepped away from the convo. There are so many things in our childrens lives that we as parents should make decisions on. Some we do even though we really should wait until they are old enough to decide. You know I was told once that the pressure point for weight control is right about where they pierce your ears. Hmmm that whole childhood obesity problem my have a new push… JK Nice writing .
Great way to get brains thinking. Though I don’t think some people like being lead down a path and then jerk around. But sometimes it takes just that to get them to see a point from the other side.
Great writing as well. Go after the big G.
From a dad with both a boy and a girl I’ve had experiences with both.
The “cut” as I call it…poor little guy was literally 1 day old and all the sudden he has a contraption over his johnson that would make the Borg jealous. The other alternative, at least if he remains in the United States, is ridicule ad finitum. He’ll thank me when he’s in his 20′s…
We had our daughter’s ears pierced when she was 3 months old, mainly because we knew the older she got the greater the chance of ripping out the ring and half of her ear lobe with it…8 years down the road, she’s all good with it.
Well… Evita… I’m not really sorry in the least if you thought that my post was insulting. I find it rather humorous that it insulted you so much! As I stated at the end of the article… it was only my opinion.
I’m not going to call out all parents who pierce their kids ears… I just don’t prefer it. While you may look down at me for having tattoos… I look down at you for not being able to take a jab from Papa K: the pervayor of everything that is just and right on the internet.
Awesome post Papa K! We have three girls.. Oldest is about to turn 5. None of them have their ears pierced. My wife is adamant about not getting them pierced until they are old enough to take care of it. I keep asking every now and then to make sure she hasn’t swayed in her decision.
But I don’t understand the parents who get them done so soon.. And here in San Antonio.. You have newborn boys with their ears holed up too..
I neither disrespect his opinion, nor do I have anything against tattoos. My husband has 2 tattoos and I’m trying to talk him into getting another. I was just using that as an example.
If he is against piercings that’s fine. He just painted the picture of parents who pierce their little one’s ears as monsters. I was just explaining that piercing a little one’s ears is part of the tradition of bringing home a baby girl where I’m from. I apologize to all for my defensiveness.
I had never heard the explanation that nerve endings are not yet developed at infancy. They sure seem to cry as though it hurts when we see them at the Mall. Perhaps there is a difference in the equipment used? A piercing gun at the Mall vs. a needle from a professional body piercer could be the difference? Off to look up now.
Since I saw that circumcision came up I’ll add my 2 cents…We had our son circumcised and if I had the chance to go back and do it all over (and now that I have researched the topic more in depth with my husband), we would not have had it done. I truly regret that I took that choice away from him.
Denise: I had never heard of the nerve ending argument either. In fact, I hate to call bullshit, but I’m pretty sure parents were piercing their babies’ ears well before they ever thought of a plausible excuse for it. I’ll leave it at that
As far as circumcision, I really hope that old cultural/religious practice dies out soon.
Great post Chris. Knowing you, I could tell it was tounge in cheek but still you had me wondering just a bit.
Good points too.
Sometime you have to draw the line, piercing and tattooing of children is not good for many reasons, it’s not healthy, it is not hygienic, and you teach children to get anything they want, and this can create problems in later life.
Great post!!!! I was with you the entire way, thinking to myself “oh what great satire” then I saw that picture and I was like noooooooo, they couldn’t have! I think that you made a great point, and did so in a very interesting way!!! Thanks for the read.
Great article, I laughed my a** off. Could just picture a 2 yo in a tattoo parlor – next time hubby goes in to get ink we may just have to bring along our little girl to prank the tattoo artists
(not really though as they may not think it’s a joke and I really wouldn’t want some idiot to think we were serious!).
Anyway though, I do disagree about the ear piercing comparison. I had mine done at 12, it really doesn’t hurt when done properly but the anticipation of pain can be killer for some people. I have known lots of girls who freaked out and agonized about whether or not to pierce their ears, but I NEVER knew a girl whose ears had been pierced as a baby, who wished it hadn’t been done. Besides, a girl can always choose to NOT wear earrings, so I don’t feel that it’s the kind of permanent bodily procedure that should ethically await their informed adult consent. I chose to have my baby girl’s ears pierced at 9 months for this reason – she wasn’t scared or tense by anticipating the process, she will not remember it, I was able to ensure that her ear piercings were properly cleaned and monitored, and she barely cried, certainly FAR less than a vaccination shot and only for a few seconds, which some nursing and a single dose of Motrin took care of promptly. She never fussed afterwards or pawed at her ears and loves having pretty earrings now, so I am very happy that we chose to do it this way.
But even though I disagree, I loved the article – thanks for the laugh!
I had my ears pierced when I was 3 months old. I have 8 tattoos and use to have 7 body piercings, I still have one that I got when I was 15. My daughter is 4 months old and she is getting her ears pierced this month. I can not phantom how you associate that getting your ears pierced is the same as getting a tattoo. You can always remove the piercing and it heals up but a tattoo is on you for life. The parents thay wait for their child to ask for piercing, what if they do ask for a tattoo are you going to give them one? Since piercing and getting a tattoo is the same concept to you all.
i agree i have always said the same thing when people asked me why didnt i get my daughters ear pierced and i said what for she can make that decision when she is older i wouldnt stick a needle throw her ear for the sake of it. She has since turned 9 and decided after months that she wanted them done. i dont agree with have ears peirced when the child doesnt have a say in it. good for you dad.
Hi, I where reading it all. When u said that u whent to an tattoo artist I didnt belive it, If u would have said that “you” where an tattoo artist making your daughters tattoo, then it would have made more sense (not easy to talk an tattoo artist into doing one).
And when I saw the big tattoo, it didnt seem right that either.
But here is a true kid-tattoo story. I work as a substitute teatcher. And a girl who where 7 at the time, she had a star tattooed at her neck, she had it since she where about 4 years old.
Why? It whas her parents culture to do that, the star bringed luck and something else.
It where placed where the hair starts growing, so she had it, but she could not se it…
I have ID twin girls, and I will pierce their ears, they are now 5month old, and I will get one with red earrings and the other with purple. So i can recognize them on the pictures when they gets older.
Have a nice day
I was nearly going to abuse the shit out of you for ruining the arm of such a beautiful girl.
It’s really good to see you going to so much trouble to do something about this serious problem of child abuse.